Doornkaat

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Logo of the spirit brand Doornkaat

Doornkaat is the name of a spirits brand ( Korn ) and also of the company behind it, Doornkaat AG from the city of Norden in East Frisia .

The triple distilled grain is offered in a green square bottle and has an alcohol content of 38 percent by  volume . Hape Kerkeling's character Horst Schlämmer was happy to have a doornkaat, even in front of the cameras, and thus contributed to the brand's awareness.

history

Doornkaat AG share of more than 1,000 marks from December 1922

Doornkaat was in 1806 in the north from which Groningen originating Mennonites th January Doornkaat Koolman founded. He was supported in this by the wealthy northern merchant Cremer, also a Mennonite. Despite great competition (there were 24 grain distilleries in the north at the time), his product prevailed. Over the decades, Doornkaat has even become a grain brand known throughout Germany. The “Doornkaat” trademark was registered on October 1, 1894 and entered in the German trademark register on December 8, 1894.

The company also gained additional pillars: In 1882, for example, a beer brewery was opened in the North Westgaste district, and from 1930 Doornkaat also sold its own tea with Doka Tea . The company rounded off its portfolio with ship investments .

Former distillery in the north

The years after the Second World War brought another great boom. In the last heyday, at the end of the 1960s, Doornkaat was advertised with the legendary Doornkaat man holding the Doornkaat square bottle with the slogan “Doornkaat - loved hot and drunk cold”.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a rapid decline that ultimately led to the sale of the company. This was essentially due to the population's changed drinking behavior, which led to a slump in sales. The changed spirits tax and the drastic increase in imported spirits also reinforced the downward trend. The longstanding board members Gerhard ten Doornkaat Koolman and Klaus Scherhorn left the company in 1984/85. The new board members Jochen Buschbeck and Hans A. Alles developed restructuring plans. In the years 1986–1987 the staff was reduced by 35%. The group result of the Doornkaat Group in 1987 was still quite acceptable at DM 4.9 million.

Doornkaat participated in the Gocher company Mülhoff with their well-known product Mampe . But even this could not stop the further decline in sales. The fruit juice business came under considerable pressure, the division was closed with the sale of the shares in Emig Fruchtsaft GmbH in 1989.

The German reunification led to a surprising but brief increase in sales at Doornkaat. The sales of the regular drink rose by 21%. Nevertheless, the negative trend could not be stopped, in 1991 only 232 people were employed at Doornkaat.

In August 1991 the Berentzen Group acquired the business of what was then Doornkaat AG, a control agreement was concluded in 1992 and production was finally relocated. Berentzen sold Doornkaat AG to the WCM Group , which converted the company into NORDAG. At the same time, the firing and trademark rights were sold to the newly founded Doornkaat Verwaltung GmbH, a newly founded subsidiary of Berentzen. This was then converted back into the new Doornkaat AG.

From 1997 onwards, no more Doornkaat was made in the northern distillery.

Effects of the closure on the Norderland

Doornkaat monument at the entrance to the village from the north .

For decades, Doornkaat was a flourishing company that offered jobs, brought the city tax revenue and the farmers in the area a sales market, but after 1991 one of the main economic pillars collapsed. Most of the employees were taken over, but shortly after the takeover there was no more production in the north. Only the bottling of the St. Ansgari mineral water remained in the city until 2015.

The former premises of the distillery can be found in the area of ​​Doornkaatlohne and Doornkaatstraße. A large part of the building is externally unchanged. Various entrepreneurs have partially restored it and filled it with new life.

social commitment

Commitment to the north

The ten Doornkaat Koolman family was deeply rooted in the Northern Mennonite community . This resulted in a social commitment. Thus, between 1879 and 1884, a three-volume dictionary of the East Frisian language was created by Kommerzienrat Jan ten Doornkaat Koolman with the help of a Germanist . In 1894, the company had a pavilion built on Blücherplatz in the center of the north, which was well received by the residents and also served as a music hall. The family members supported the founding of the volunteer fire brigade north and the Heimatverein Norderland and also sponsored the local deaconess station.

Foundation, endowment

In December 1988, Gerhard ten Doornkaat Koolman established the Gerhard ten Doornkaat Koolman Foundation . Since then it has become very important for East Frisia. The purpose of the foundation is the promotion of science and research, art and culture, the cultivation of the idea of ​​home, the protection of monuments, the environment and nature as well as rescue from danger to life, especially at sea. A sea ​​rescue boat of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People was named after Gerhard ten Doornkaat , the Gerhard ten Doornkaat .

literature

  • Gerhard Canzler : Doornkaat. A company history. Edited by Kay ten Doornkaat Koolman, set and designed by Kriso ten Doornkaat, self-published, Norden 2002.

Web links

Commons : Doornkaat  - collection of images, videos and audio files